Story in the College of Arts & Sciences

Jesse Baldwin-Philippi '07

Jesse Baldwin-Philippi says the best part of her undergraduate education was the friendships she made—with fellow students as well as with professors. One person she's happy to still be in contact with is English Professor Terry Beers, who advised her on the California Legacy Project.

"Working with Professor Beers, I did a huge assortment of things, in the best of all possible ways. I helped lead a practicum class on the production of radio scripts so we taught how to research California literature and also how to write for radio. I sat in on all the recordings of the scripts at the station. I worked on various other publications with Heyday Books, putting together supplemental materials like timelines or study guides," says Baldwin-Philippi.

Today, Baldwin-Philippi is a doctoral candidate studying political communication at Northwestern University. She says her work focuses on "globalization discourse and how it's presented in the news media."

She sees her work as a Ph.D. student as evolving from her studies in communication and English at Santa Clara. Professor Beers was one of several faculty members who mentored her.

"Professor Beers was incredibly helpful with and supportive of my undergraduate and looming graduate work, and he was always a great sounding board for ideas of any sort. At SCU I was also able to foster wonderful relationships with other professors too. The atmosphere of the university allows for such valuable professor-student interaction. I think that was what really got me where I am today," she says.